Fido: People you just can't forget
by Pave-Ment
Summary: Fido tells about strangest people he encountered during his voyages through the post-nuclear wasteland. Review this one please. It's my first story here.
1. Prologue

Hey there. My name's Jonathan Wiggins. I'm afraid I'm the only one who remembers that so you all can call me Fido. Just like the others do. I don't know why they call me like that. They do since last years Mutant Hunt Fest in Springfield. Stupid story anyways. I'm a desert guide. I take people from one place to another if they don't want to go on their own. I must say I'm a pretty good guide. The people who pay me get where they want in one piece. And alive. Sometimes I take things instead of people. Some say the job was named a courier. Whatever. The name doesn't concern me if the pay's good enough. Ok, that'll be enough about me. After all I'm here to tell you all about people I've met while wandering in this post-nuclear sandbox that used to be called Illinois. So sit back and listen. If anybody interrupts me I'm outa here.


	2. The Dude

**THE DUDE**

I've met the guy about two years ago near the ruins of Hillsbore. It's something like a week of walk southwards from Springfield. It was the worst hole I've ever been to. Not a single human being. And the smell. Disgusting! No wonder since the sewage works blew sky-high and the waste was thrown all over the city. It's still lying there and scaring even the ghouls away. And believe me, they smell themselves. Some lady wanted me to go there and bring her some files or something from the City Hall. She paid a lot so I took the job. When I realized that the City Hall's in the middle of all this filth I wanted to turn around and just walk away. But then I thought that all the people who stood here have just turned around and walked away. If so, than the city still is full of useful things for me to take. Plus the lady's payment for the files. I started walking towards the city centre. The city really was full of stuff just waiting for me to take. But I wanted to get those files first. I can get those things when going back I thought.

I've been walking for about an hour when I saw something moving in the street ahead. At first I thought it was the sewage waste moving like a wave. When it started coming closer I thought it was some sort of a sewage mutant. Like those 50 feet alligators in Miami. I drew my rifle and aimed at it. Just when I wanted to pull the trigger the mutant started waving to me and yelling:

"Peace man! Wher'ya from?"

I couldn't do anything but staring at this strange creature with my eyes opened wide. When it came closer it turned out that it actually is a human. Well at least some sort of a human.

"What's ya problem man?"

"No… nothing. No problem at all."

"Chill out man. Me name's Dude." he said stretching forward his arm covered in filth.

"Johny." I shook his hand trying not to vomit "What're you doing in this hole?"

"I grow flowers." he replied like it would be the most natural thing for him to do here.

"Flowers? Are you nuts? What do you need flowers for?"

"Look around you Johny. Now you see?"

"Umm…" I couldn't see much more than pools of sewage waste. "No."

"To kill the smell of civilization."

"Oh, I see."

"Well if you can see the smell, than it has to be awful, right?"

"Well I… I think so…" I replied a little confused.

"And if it's awful than it has to be neutralized" He explained it with a tone you use when talking to a retarded child.

"Cool… Good for you… I gotta go now… Business you know…"

The guy's nuts. No doubts about it. It's better to keep away from him. So I started to walk away bidding him goodbye and stuff. When I got to the City Hall and grabbed those files I decided to go to the other side of the city and then just walk around it. I really didn't want to meet that nut again. I've been walking for a while when I saw those flowers. He really did grow flowers! On heaps of trash and waste. All kinds of flowers, all colors, all shapes, all sizes. And then it stuck me. The guy's a hippie! I started walking even faster away from him.

I brought those files back and got my payment but I never took anything from there. I don't regret. I wonder however if the Dude's still alive and if he still grows his flowers. Probably yes. There's no one who would volunteer to go there. Even the most savage beasts avoid Hillsbore. Especially them. They've got a keen sense of smell right?


End file.
